‘Always Give’: Restaurant Owner Makes It Her Mission To Feed The Homeless On Thanksgiving

WILKINSBURG (KDKA) — As we count our blessings on Thanksgiving, some use the day to give back. Ms. Jean, of Jean’s Southern Cuisine in Wilkinsburg, opens her restaurant doors every year to those less fortunate.

Ms. Jean Gould loves showing southern hospitality. For her, there is no better way to show compassion for the less fortunate than by giving them a hot Thanksgiving meal.

“Everything we cook in here, we cook from my heart,” said Jean Gould, owner of Ms. Jean’s Southern Cuisine in Wilkinsburg.

They say home is where the heart is, but at Jean’s Southern Cuisine there is a lot of love, and that goes into making the food.

“We make food just like we’re at home,” said Gould.

For the past 17 years, Jean’s Southern Cuisine becomes a home for the less fortunate on Thanksgiving day.

“So much has been given to me and that was one of my ways of giving back to the community,” said Gould.

She opens her restaurant doors at the Hosanna House in Wilkinsburg to those in need and serves them a feast.

“We try to share everything that we have. You know, I don’t have a lot, but I’ll share my food,” said Gould.

Ms. Jean’s love for cooking, and compassion for people comes from the southern hospitality she learned as a child.

“The way my Mom brought us up, you know always give, always offer food because you never know when someone is hungry and they don’t want to say anything to anybody,” said Gould.

She sees Thanksgiving as a time to not only be thankful, but a time to give with love.

“When I feed the homeless, I’m not going to give them anything that I wouldn’t eat,” said Gould.

Everyone gets the royal treatment when they sit down to dine!

“We serve everybody their drinks, their dessert, and their food. We just want them to feel at home,” said Gould.

This is because you can show thanks with love, and, of course, with food!

Julie GrantJulie Grant is a reporter, anchor and legal editor at KDKA. She’s thrilled to be working for the station she grew up watching.
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